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In tennis, a player uses different strategies that both enhance his own strengths and exploit his opponent's weaknesses in order to gain the advantage and win more points. Players commonly specialize in a certain style of play, focusing on what they do best as a means of beating their opponents. Based on their style, players generally fit into one of three types: baseliners, volleyers and all-court players. A baseliner plays from the back of the tennis court, around the baseline, preferring to trade groundstrokes rather than to come up to the net (except in certain situations). A volleyer tries to approach the net and hit volleys, putting pressure on the opponent. All-court players fall somewhere in between. A tennis player usually determines his/her strategies based on his/her weaknesses. For example, most players have a stronger forehand, therefore they will hit forehands inside out to their opponents. For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ... A point is the smallest unit of scoring in tennis. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A groundstroke in tennis is a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball bounces once on the court. ...

Offensive or aggressive baseliner

An offensive or aggressive baseliner tries to win the point by hitting winners from the back of the court, attacking with fast balls that the opponent cannot reach or return properly. Being an offensive baseliner player requires a deadly array of shots and shot-types. The tennis player may not try to win the point outright with one shot, but instead may hit the ball from side to side until (s)he spots an opening. Offensive baseliners normally have at least one great groundstroke, often the forehand. Usually offensive baseliners have the ability to read the game very well and also their opponents styles and tendencies so that they can spot a weakness and use one of their aggressive shots to act upon it. For information on the forehand of a horse, see forehand (horse) A forehand. ...

An offensive baseliner can overpower and overwhelm most opposition. However, when going for winners, he can also produce many errors since an offensive baseliner has to repeatedly and correctly execute the most difficult strokes and shots in tennis. Whether the errors are due to physical and/or mental reasons such as tiredness and/or lack of confidence. Two great old-time players, R. Norris Williams and Ellsworth Vines, were famous for being unbeatable when their strokes were "on"; they played with such little margin for error in making their strokes, however, that when they were not 100 percent "on" they could be beaten by inferior players. Another advantage in being an offensive baseliner is since the shots they do are usually very ambitious and difficult to achieve, the offensive baseliner executing these sometimes truly amazing shots can shock and stun the opposition which increases confidence to the offensive baseliner and lowers the opponent's confidence. R. Norris Dick Williams was an American tennis player of the 1920s. ... Ellsworth Vines as an amateur in 1933 Ellsworth Vines (September 28, 1911 – March 17, 1994) was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. ...

Offensive baseliners often excel on both grass and clay courts. On grass, they can execute their "winners" and due to the quick and small bounce, makes it harder for opponents to retrieve; whereas on clay courts, some offensive baseliners might like the slow and high bounce because it gives them a longer time to change their grip and foot-positions in order to set up for a "winner." Some all-time great aggressive baseliners are Bill Johnston, Jim Courier, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. Most players today are aggressive baseliners; a few notable ones are Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Fernando Gonzalez, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanović, Nicole Vaidisova, and Lindsay Davenport. William (Little Bill) Johnston (2 November 1894 - 1 May 1946) was an American tennis champion. ... James Spencer Jim Courier, Jr. ... For the Austrian runner, see Stephanie Graf. ... Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a former world No. ... Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko (Russian: ; born June 2, 1981 in Severodonetsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian[1] tennis player. ... Andrew Stephen Andy Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. ... For other persons named James Blake, see James Blake (disambiguation). ... Fernando González at the 2004 Summer Olympics Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (born July 29, 1980), nicknamed El Bombardero de La Reina (Spanish La Reinas Bomber) and Mano de Piedra (Hand of Stone,) is a professional tennis player from Chile. ... Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player, former World No. ... Serena Jameka Williams, (born September 26, 1981) is an American female tennis player who has won eight Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in womens doubles. ... Ana Ivanovic (Serbian: Ана Ивановић, Ana Ivanović, pronounced ,   born November 6, 1987, in Belgrade, Serbia, then Yugoslavia) is a Serbian professional tennis player. ... Nicole Vaidisová Nicole Vaidisová (born April 23, 1989 in Nürnberg, Germany) is a Czech female tennis player. ... Lindsay Ann Davenport (born June 8, 1976 in Palos Verdes, California) is a former World No. ...

Defensive baseliner

A defensive baseliner, or counterpuncher or retriever, returns every ball and relies on the opponent making mistakes. He has consistent shots, makes few errors of his own while making it difficult for opponents to hit winners. The game of the defensive counterpuncher is more to do with physical determination to retrieve un-retrievable balls and immense fitness. They tend to make relatively few errors because they don't attempt the complicated and ambitious shots of the aggressive baseliner. But that doesn't mean they don't ever attempt aggressive shots. A counterpuncher must have speed and agility to cover the court. He/She is a fighter, and has to have willingness to chase down every ball to frustrate opponents. Especially aggressive baseliners who naturally have a fiery attitude and flair, returning every aggressive shot which they do will just encourage their aggressiveness and thus encouraging errors and mistakes. Usually, the defensive counterpuncher frustrates their opponent so much that their opponent might actually try to change their game by either coming to the net in which case they can just execute "Passing Shots" down the lines, or by attempting to also be a defensive counterpuncher.

Counterpunchers often excel on slow courts, such as clay courts. The court gives them extra time to chase down shots and it is harder for opponents to create winners. Counterpunchers are often particularly strong players at low-level play, where opponents cannot make winners with regularity.

Great counterpunchers of all time include Mats Wilander, Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, Michael Chang, Miloslav Mecir, Chris Evert, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Active players who employ this strategy are Lleyton Hewitt, Guillermo Coria, Rafael Nadal, Jelena Janković and Anastasia Myskina. Mats Wilander (born August 22, 1964, in Vaxjo, Sweden) is a former World No. ... Björn Borg (born June 6, 1956) is a Swedish tennis player. ... Guillermo Vilas (born August 17, 1952 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a former Argentine professional tennis player. ... Michael Te-Pei Chang (張德培; Pinyin: Zhāng Dépéi; born February 22, 1972, in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.) is an American former professional tennis player. ... Miloslav Mecir (Slovak Miloslav Mečíř; born May 19, 1964, in Bojnice, Slovakia) is a former professional tennis player. ... Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is a former World No. ... Arantxa S nchez Vicario1 (born December 18, 1971) is a former tennis player from Barcelona, Spain. ... Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (IPA: [1]) (born 24 February 1981) is a former World No. ... Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born January 13, 1982 in Rufino, Santa Fe Province), nicknamed El Mago (The Magician in Spanish), is a professional tennis player from Argentina. ... Rafael Nadal Parera (IPA: ) (born June 3, 1986, in Manacor, Mallorca) is a Spanish professional tennis player. ... Jelena Janković (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Јанковић, pronounced ; born on February 28, 1985) is a Serbian professional female tennis player. ... Anastasia Andreyevna Myskina (Анастасия Мыскина; in Russian pronounced //) (born July 8, 1981, Moscow, Russia) is a professional tennis player from Russia. ...

Serve-and-Volleyer

Main article: Serve-and-volley

A serve-and-volleyer has a great net game, is quick around the net, and has fine touch for volleys. Serve-and-volleyers come up to the net at every opportunity when serving. They are almost always attackers and can hit many winners with varieties of volleys and drop volleys. When not serving, they often employ the "chip-and-charge", chipping back the serve without attempting to hit a winner and rushing the net. The serve-and-volleyers' strategy is to pressure the opponent to try to hit difficult passing shots. Serve and volley is a strategy used in lawn tennis (and rarely in real tennis)Not many players bother to try to serve and volley in this time of tennis due to the hard hitting players we have these days in the game. ... Arguably the best volleyer in the game now, Tim Henman is well-known around the tennis community for his excellent touch. A volley in tennis is a shot that is hit before the ball bounces on the ground. ... Serve and volley is a strategy used in lawn tennis (and rarely in real tennis)Not many players bother to try to serve and volley in this time of tennis due to the hard hitting players we have these days in the game. ... A drop shot in tennis is tapping the ball just over the net so that the opponent is unable to run in fast enough to retrieve it. ... Serve and volley is a strategy used in lawn tennis (and rarely in real tennis)Not many players bother to try to serve and volley in this time of tennis due to the hard hitting players we have these days in the game. ...

Serve-and-volleyers benefit from playing on fast courts, such as grass or fast concrete. The quick bounce and faster pace of play give them an advantage because opponents have less time to set up for a passing shot. The number of serve-and-volley players is decreasing in today's professional tennis, however, because this strategy requires more experience to master and to defeat other playing styles (As well as changes in racquet technology that have improved players' passing shots). In addition to this, there has been a trend toward the slowing down of tennis surfaces over the past few years. Tim Henman and Lleyton Hewitt have each lamented that the surfaces of their respective home Grand Slams (Wimbledon and the Australian Open) play very slowly. The serve-and-volley technique works better on faster surfaces because the volleyer is able to put more balls away without the baseliner being able to chase them down. Timothy Henry Tim Henman OBE (born 6 September 1974 in Oxford) is a former English tennis player. ... Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (IPA: [1]) (born 24 February 1981) is a former World No. ...

Some of the great ones in history are Jack Kramer, Frank Sedgman, Pancho Gonzales, Roy Emerson, Lew Hoad, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic, Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter, Tim Henman, Jana Novotna and Martina Navratilova. Jack Kramer can refer to: Jack Kramer: a Major League Baseball player Jack Kramer: a tennis player This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Frank Allan Sedgman, born October 29, 1927, in Mt. ... Ricardo Alonso González or Richard Gonzalez, (May 9, 1928 – July 3, 1995), who was generally known as Pancho Gonzales or, less often, as Pancho Gonzalez, was the World No. ... Roy Stanley Emerson (born November 3, 1936) is a former champion Australian tennis player. ... Lewis Alan Hoad, born November 23, 1934 in Glebe, New South Wales, Australia - died July 3, 1994 in Fuengirola, Spain, was a champion tennis player. ... John Patrick McEnroe Jr. ... Boris Franz Becker (born November 22, 1967, in Leimen, West Germany) is a former World No. ... Country: Croatia Residence: Monte Carlo, MON Height: 64 (193 cm) Weight: 180 lb (81 kg) Plays: Left Turned pro: 1988 Highest singles ranking: 2 (7/4/1994) Singles titles: 22 Career Prize Money: $19,876,579 Grand Slam Record Australian Open QF (1989-94-97) French Open QF (1992... Petros “Pete” Sampras (born 12 August 1971), is a former World No. ... Stefan Bengt Edberg (born January 19, 1966 in Västervik, Sweden) is a former World No. ... Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former World No. ... Timothy Henry Tim Henman OBE (born 6 September 1974 in Oxford) is a former English tennis player. ... Novotná at the 1998 US Open Jana Novotná (born October 2, 1968 in Brno, Czech Republic) is a former professional Czech tennis player. ... Martina Navratilova (born October 18, 1956, in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a former World No. ...

Bill Tilden, the dominant player of the 1920s, preferred to play from the backcourt and liked nothing better than to face an opponent who rushed the net — one way or another Tilden would find a way to hit the ball past him. In his book Match Play and the Spin of the Ball, Tilden propounds the theory that by definition a great baseline player will always beat a great serve-and-volleyer. Some of the best matches of all time have pitted great baseliners such as Bjorn Borg or Andre Agassi against great serve-and-volleyers such as John McEnroe or Pete Sampras. William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), often called Big Bill, was an American tennis player who was the World No. ... Björn Borg (born June 6, 1956) is a Swedish tennis player. ... Andre Kirk Agassi (born April 29, 1970) is a former World No. ... John Patrick McEnroe Jr. ... Petros “Pete” Sampras (born 12 August 1971), is a former World No. ...

All-court player

All-court players have aspects of every tennis style, whether that be aggressive baseliner, defensive counterpuncher or serve-volleyer. All-court players use the best bits from each style and mix it together to create a truly formidable tennis style to play against. In game situations, they have the ability to select an action usually executed by one tennis style. They usually have an attacking game, mixing some groundstrokes and volleys to keep the opponent guessing. Most all-court players won't rush the net immediately after a serve like a typical serve and volley player would. However, their game often revolves around "constructing" a point to where they will be able to approach the net and put away an easy volley or pulling their opponent into the net and hitting a passing shot. They are very versatile; when an all-court player's baseline game is not working, he may switch to a net game, and vice versa. All-court players have the ability to adjust to different opponents that play different styles easier than pure baseliners or serve and volleyers. all-court players stereotypically have the speed, determination and fitness of a defensive counterpuncher, the confidence, skill and flair of aggressive baseliners and have the touch, the agility around the net and tactical thinking of the serve-volleyer. But just because the all-court player has a combination of skills used by all tennis styles doesn't necessarily mean that they could beat an aggressive baseliner or a defensive counterpuncher or even a serve-volleyer. It just means it would be more difficult to read the game of an all-court player.

Among the best all-court players of all time are: Bill Tilden, Ellsworth Vines, Don Budge, Ken Rosewall, and Rod Laver. By most observers, Pancho Gonzales was considered a serve-and-volleyer; however, he considered himself an all-court player. Great all-court players today include Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, David Nalbandian, Marat Safin, Andy Murray, Fabrice Santoro, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Amelie Mauresmo and Daniela Hantuchova. William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), often called Big Bill, was an American tennis player who was the World No. ... Ellsworth Vines as an amateur in 1933 Ellsworth Vines (September 28, 1911 – March 17, 1994) was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. ... Don Budge hitting a backhand as an amateur in 1935 John Donald (Don or Donnie) Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis champion who was a World No. ... Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad in a 1952 Davis Cup doubles match Ken Robert Rosewall (born November 2, 1934 in Sydney, Australia) is a former champion tennis player with a renowned backhand who enjoyed an exceptionally long career at the highest levels, from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. ... For the arena in Melbourne Park used for show matches in the Australian Open, see Rod Laver Arena Rodney George (Rod) Laver MBE (born August 9, 1938, in Rockhampton, Australia) is a former tennis player from Australia who was the World No. ... Ricardo Alonso González or Richard Gonzalez, (May 9, 1928 – July 3, 1995), who was generally known as Pancho Gonzales or, less often, as Pancho Gonzalez, was the World No. ... Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković or Novak Djoković, pronounced ,  ), born May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia (part of Yugoslavia at the time), is a Serbian professional tennis player. ... Federer redirects here. ... David Nalbandian (born January 1, 1982) is an Argentinian professional tennis player who is currently ranked 7th in the world according to the South African Airways/ATP Rankings of June 16th, 2008. ... Marat Mikhailovich Safin (Tatar: ; Russian: ; b. ... Andrew Andy Murray (born 15 May 1987 in Glasgow), is an English[4][5] tennis player, who is currently the highest-ranking British player. ... Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born December 9, 1972) is a French professional male tennis player known for using both hands for every possible shot. ... Justine Henin; ( ) (born June 1, 1982 in Liège) is a Belgian professional tennis player from the Walloon (French-speaking) region of Belgium. ... Martina Hingis (born September 30, 1980 in KoÅ¡ice, Czechoslovakia) is a retired professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. ... Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (Cyrillic:  ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. ... Am lie Mauresmo (born 5 July 1979) is a French professional tennis player. ... Country: Slovakia Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco Height: 5 11 1/4 Weight: 124 lbs. ...

Doubles Strategy

Though strategy is important in singles, it is even more important in doubles. The additional width of the alleys on the doubles court has a great effect on the angles possible in doubles play. Consequently, doubles is known as a game of angles.

There are three basic doubles strategies:

• both-up strategy (also called "two-up" strategy)
• up-and-back strategy (also called "one-up/one-back" or "I" strategy)
• both-back strategy (also called "two-back" strategy)

Both-Up Strategy

The ideal is both-up strategy, often called "Attacking Doubles" because the net is the "high ground," and both-up strategy puts both players close to it, in a position to score because of their excellent vantage points and angles. A team in the both-up formation, however, is vulnerable to a good lob from either opponent at any time. So, to be successful with Attacking Doubles, they must have penetrating volleys to prevent good lobs and good overhead shots to kill poor ones. A lob in tennis is hitting the ball high and deep into the opponents court. ... Arguably the best volleyer in the game now, Tim Henman is well-known around the tennis community for his excellent touch. A volley in tennis is a shot that is hit before the ball bounces on the ground. ... An overhead smash in tennis is a shot that is hit above the head with a serve-like motion. ...

Teams that play Attacking Doubles try to get into the both-up formation on every point. When serving, their server follows most first serves to the net and some second serves. So, Attacking Doubles is also called serve-and-volley doubles. When receiving, their receiver follows most second-service returns to the net. The Australian Frank Sedgman was one of the great serve-and-volleyers A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. ...

At the touring professional level, Attacking Doubles is the strategy of choice.

Up-and-Back Strategy

At lower levels of the game, not all players have penetrating volleys and strong overhead shots. So, many use up-and-back strategy. The weakness in this formation is the large angular gap it creates between partners, a gap that an opposing net player can easily hit a clean winner through.

Nonetheless, up-and-back strategy is versatile, with both offense and defense in it. In fact, since the server and receiver must begin each point at the baseline, virtually every point in doubles begins with both teams in this formation.

Teams without net games strong enough to play Attacking Doubles can play both-up when they have their opponents on the defensive. So, they patiently play up-and-back for a chance to hit a forcing shot and bring their baseliner to the net.

Australian Doubles and the I-Formation are variations of up-and-back strategy. In Australian doubles, the server's partner at net lines up on the same side of the court, fronting the opposing net player, who serves as a poaching block and blind. The receiver then must return serve down the line and is liable to have that return poached. In the I-Formation, the server's net partner lines up in the center, between the server and receiver so he or she can poach in either direction. Both Australian Doubles and the I-Formation are poaching formations that can also be used to start the point for serve-and-volley doubles. The following is a list of tennis terms, sorted alphabetically. ...

Both-Back Strategy

Both-back strategy is strictly defensive. You normally see it only when the opposing team is both-up or when the returner is passing the net player on the return. From here the defenders can return the most forcing shots till they get a chance to hit a good lob or an offensive shot. If their opponents at net become impatient and try to angle the ball away when a baseliner can reach it, the defender can turn the tables and score outright.

See also

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Image File history File links Portal. ... The following is a list of tennis terms, sorted alphabetically. ... There are eight basic shots in the game of tennis: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half volley (pick-up ball), overhead smash, drop shot, and lob. ... For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ...

External links

• How to Beat Four Major Types of Tennis Opponent
• Tennis lessons, drills, tips and exercises
• Doubles Strategy and Tactics
• Doubles Strategy
• United States Tennis Association lessons and tips
• Learning Tennis Online Recopilation of online tennis resources